Interactive Whiteboard 101: A Resource of Activities for Literacy Instruction

Welcome to the classroom of the present! Interactive whiteboards are all the rage at conferences like the International Reading Association’s Annual Convention, which was held last week in Orlando, Florida. My colleague Linda Foote and I presented four sessions of Whiteboard 101: Taking Literacy to the Next Level to a packed classroom of eager and enthusiastic teachers. Continue reading to get links to some great literacy content that you can use with your interactive whiteboard today!

The power of the interactive whiteboard lies in its being interactive. Keep in mind when planning or selecting activities that the students should be the ones up at the board interacting with the content as they are learning.

Here is a list of Web-based lessons, activities, and games for literacy that you can use in your classroom. These great free resources are perfect whether you just got your interactive board or have had it for years.

Primary students love the interactive stories on this site as well as the interactive word work games like Make a Word and Sound Match. These are great to use as center activities or in whole class lessons.

Here is an attention-getting way to have your students write more interesting biographies. They click around and add content, like their biggest obstacle and a famous quote, to each side of the cube. A bonus is that the activity prints so that it can be folded to create a real cube.

In this interactive game, students learn about doubling the letter or changing the y when adding an ending to a word. Students need to decide which fishing pole correctly spells the word made from the given base word.

Have students play archery as they use the meaning of the Greek root to identify the definition of a word. You can use this as your lesson on Greek roots and have whole class discussions as students play on the whiteboard.

Students love clicking the handle and spinning the story starter machine. They giggle at the silly writing prompts while they find their desired one. Then they write creative stories to share with the class.

A few weeks ago I dedicated a whole post to interactive review games, including these. At our workshops these were favorites with our teacher audiences. You can easily create games like Board Game, Jeopardy, Speed Match, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Visit my past blog post to read ideas for using these games.

As you plan your lessons and activities, try to think of ways to make them more interactive. Hand over the pen and board to your students and let them experience, interact with, and manipulate the content. I would love to learn about your favorite interactive whiteboard resources and field any questions you have about making your board a more integral part of your classroom. Please comment below.

Welcome to the classroom of the present! Interactive whiteboards are all the rage at conferences like the International Reading Association’s Annual Convention, which was held last week in Orlando, Florida. My colleague Linda Foote and I presented four sessions of Whiteboard 101: Taking Literacy to the Next Level to a packed classroom of eager and enthusiastic teachers. Continue reading to get links to some great literacy content that you can use with your interactive whiteboard today!

The power of the interactive whiteboard lies in its being interactive. Keep in mind when planning or selecting activities that the students should be the ones up at the board interacting with the content as they are learning.

Here is a list of Web-based lessons, activities, and games for literacy that you can use in your classroom. These great free resources are perfect whether you just got your interactive board or have had it for years.

Primary students love the interactive stories on this site as well as the interactive word work games like Make a Word and Sound Match. These are great to use as center activities or in whole class lessons.

Here is an attention-getting way to have your students write more interesting biographies. They click around and add content, like their biggest obstacle and a famous quote, to each side of the cube. A bonus is that the activity prints so that it can be folded to create a real cube.

In this interactive game, students learn about doubling the letter or changing the y when adding an ending to a word. Students need to decide which fishing pole correctly spells the word made from the given base word.

Have students play archery as they use the meaning of the Greek root to identify the definition of a word. You can use this as your lesson on Greek roots and have whole class discussions as students play on the whiteboard.

Students love clicking the handle and spinning the story starter machine. They giggle at the silly writing prompts while they find their desired one. Then they write creative stories to share with the class.

A few weeks ago I dedicated a whole post to interactive review games, including these. At our workshops these were favorites with our teacher audiences. You can easily create games like Board Game, Jeopardy, Speed Match, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Visit my past blog post to read ideas for using these games.

As you plan your lessons and activities, try to think of ways to make them more interactive. Hand over the pen and board to your students and let them experience, interact with, and manipulate the content. I would love to learn about your favorite interactive whiteboard resources and field any questions you have about making your board a more integral part of your classroom. Please comment below.

Earth Day is April 22. Our planet is a beautiful one, and it is all we have. This Earth Day take a look at some books, songs, activities, crafts, and recipes that will get your students interested in helping our earth.

Every spring break as I am cleaning up my classroom, I take time to reflect and organize my thoughts. What strategies or routines have worked well this year? Are there any areas that we havenât worked on that we need to?